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Selection Both Amazon Prime and Netflix boast lush catalogs. A lot of people complain that Netflix doesn't offer enough shows and movies that they actually want to watch, but I disagree. Sure, it lacks most new releases (more in the next section) and most Academy Award winning films, but I find it has enough undiscovered content to keep my quirky tastes fully satisfied. I watch a lot of cult favorite television shows (like Twin Peaks), the occasional documentary, one or two foreign films a month, and an appalling number of British comedies.

The biggest problem I have with Netflix is that movies and television series might be available one day and get pulled the next. In other words, the catalog changes frequently and without notice. For example, I'm sure I watched all of Absolutely Fabulous about a year ago, but it's no longer offered. Word on the street is Jennifer Saunders and company are making a revival of the show, and I have a hunch that the older series got yanked from Netflix Instant right around the time that interest in the mid-1990s show suddenly resurfaced.

On the other hand, the biggest problem I have with Amazon Prime's instant videos is practically everything I found that I was excited to watch (because it wasn't available in Netflix) cost extra... which means I could buy that content without a Prime account. Often when a movie or show isn't available to watch instantly for free, Amazon (the selling machine that it is) surfaces other ways for you to get that content at a cost. You might pay $1.99 to watch a television episode instantly, or $24.99 to get the DVD box set of the whole series sent to you by mail, with free shipping, of course. Again, these aren't technically part of the "Prime unlimited streaming" deal you already bought, but hey, Amazon has the content you want in some form, so why not just buy it? Some people like these options that Amazon gives them, while others (like me) see the tactic as a constant upsell. If I've paid my 80 bucks for the year for "unlimited streaming," why does Amazon keep pushing me to buy more?

Back to selection: There's no way I can provide a truly comprehensive list of what is and is it available in both collections, so let me show a sample of the break down, as of the time as this writing, and likely subject to change at any moment:

Free on both Amazon Prime and Netflix:Parks and Recreation, children's show Arthur, In the Loop, True Grit

Available on Netflix Instant, but not Amazon Prime:Peepshow, Green Wing, Lilyhammer (which was created as an exclusive Netflix series)

Available on Amazon Prime, but not Netflix Instant:Fringe, The West Wing, Short Circuit

Available on both but with added cost on Amazon: This category, content that's available on both services but with an added cost to Amazon Prime members, turned out to be pretty interesting to explore, as did the following category, content available on Amazon for a price but not on Netflix at all.

I began watching Dirty Sexy Money, a trashy show that you should watch anyway due to fabulous performances by Donald Sutherland and Nate from Six Feet Under, Peter Krause, who here also deals with the untimely death of his father. It goes for $1.99 per episode on Amazon, but why would you pay that when it's free on Netflix? Likewise, I could watch Shameless (the original U.K. version, not the American remake with William H. Macy) over and over on Netflix, but it will set me back two bucks per episode on Amazon, or $2.99 if I want to see Frank Gallagher's pock-marked face in HD. And if you haven't yet seen Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson in one of my favorite movies, Lost in Translation, you're much better off watching it on Netflix than Amazon, where you'll have to pay $9.99 to own it or $2.99 to rent it. The IT Crows, Archer, and Bob's Burger all fall into this category, too.

Not on Netflix Instant, but available on Amazon with added cost: The example everyone surely cares about most in this category is HBO's Game of Thrones, although only Season 1, and for two bucks per episode. The completely ludicrous 1970s and 80s show Are You Being Served? also turns up on Amazon for $1.99 per episode but isn't on Netflix at all. The Skin I Live In (or by its original title La Piel Que Habito), which was easily the best movie I saw last year and nowhere to be seen on Netflix Instant, costs a whopping $14.99 to stream from Amazon. In fact, I found many more examples of movies that cost more than $10 on Amazon but not on Netflix, although at that price, I wouldn't consider it an little added costI'd call that a flat out separate purchase.

Not available on either:Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (which maybe should be the title of all of Pedro Almodóvar's films), Dancer in the Dark (directed by Lars von Trier, whose movies might be better titled Women and Their Nervous Breakdowns), Black Swan, Star Wars, Return of the Jedi

Recent ReleasesAmazon Prime. On the subject of recent releases, Amazon Prime has a clear leg up on Netflix Instant. Recently released shows and movies pop up on Amazon much faster than on Netflix Instant, although you'll likely have to pay extra. As I mentioned earlier, you can watch Season 5 of Breaking Bad and Season 1 of Game of Thrones on Amazon for an extra cost, but you can't see either one yet on Netflix Instant. Many shows have shows that are available within a few days of the original air date. You'll have to pay a premium for that, however; Amazon doesn't let you pay a season-pass style discount (as iTunes does) until the whole season has aired. If you closely follow Hollywood release dates for DVDs, you might notice that content often hits Amazon Prime shortly thereafter (I'm no expert on this subject, so I'll rely on readers to share their examples in the comments). With Netflix, it's hard to know when or a new and hot title will show up.

Netflix Instant. In Netflix Instant's Web interface, you won't even see a section for "new releases"—Netflix does have a "new arrivals" area, which isn't the same thing. Occasionally some gems make it to Netflix Instant quickly, but it's rare and unforeseen when it happens. Many shows that are available on a per-episode basis a few days or weeks after hitting the air on Amazon won't be available until some time after the DVD for the season to come out—so, sometimes as much as a year after they are available on Amazon.

Jill Duffy is a contributing editor, based in Washington, D.C., specializing in productivity apps and software, as well as apps and gadgets for health and fitness. She writes the weekly Get Organized column, with tips on how to lead a better digital life. Her book, Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life is available for Kindle, iPad, and other digital formats.
She also spoke at TED@250, a salon-style conference at TED.com headquarters, about how to better and more sanely manage email.
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